Under Xiangnan's guidance, the police car with its honking sounds quickly drove to Zhang Cai's house.
The aunties from the village who came to watch the fun all trotted over behind.
Xiao Zhang got out of the police car and looked at Yang Shengli and said, "Call everyone in your family here. We're going to interrogate them one by one."
Yang Shengli said in a low voice: "They...they all went out to work."
"Call them all back, including the children, and don't delay our investigation." Xiao Zhang shouted sternly.
Xiao Zhang was not even afraid of the threat from the county party secretary's daughter, so naturally he would not be nice to Yang Shengli and the others.
Xiangnan spotted Zhou Xiumei in the crowd and waved, "Auntie, please go home and get me some food and drinks, and ask my husband for a pack of Hongtashan."
She didn't usually smoke, so she didn't have any on hand, but she knew that the last time Doctor Wu came, he brought two packs of Hongtashan cigarettes for Huo De.
This cigarette is a good product in this era. It is not cheap and tastes first-class. Comrade Xiao Zhang smokes, so he asked Zhou Xiumei to bring some over.
It's not possible to send people from so far away to handle a case without any hospitality.
Zhou Xiumei nodded and left.
Yang Shengli's daughter-in-law was frightened and hurried to find her husband Zhang Liang, and also brought back her two sons who were out digging for loaches.
Zhang Cai was actually at home. He didn't go out to work today. When he saw the police car coming, he was so scared that he hid in the house and didn't come out.
Zhang Liang came back and said his father was at home, and knocked on the door, and only then did Zhang Cai dare to come out.
"Comrade... police... what are you doing? I... we haven't done anything wrong..." Zhang Cai couldn't speak clearly.
"Don't be nervous, we are just here to investigate. If you haven't done anything wrong, we won't accuse you.
If you have committed a crime, I advise you to confess and receive leniency, and resist and receive severity."
"Comrade Public Security, I...we haven't done anything wrong. How did you find me..."
Zhang Cai looked like an honest man, with his head down, appearing very scared.
"We'll know if he's committed any crime once we ask him. Let the child in first."
Xiao Zhang and Xiao Zhou walked into the main hall, brought in Zhang Liang's two children, and asked them to sit down: "Don't worry, kids, uncle just wants to ask you two questions."
The two children in Zhang Liang's family had never seen police officers before, but they were not afraid. They were just curious about the police officers' uniforms and thought the police officers looked very impressive in them.
Xiao Zhang spoke to them and they nodded.
"Did your grandfather catch any snakes the other day?"
"Yes, Grandpa caught a lot of snakes that day. Mom said we can sell them for a lot of money, so we can buy cakes for Sister Xiangnan's family."
"Do you know how many there are?"
"Five, I remember!"
Xiao Zhang praised: "Great, you remember all this. Then go and have fun."
Then they called Zhang Liang in: "Your father caught five snakes two days ago, didn't he?"
"Yes, my father often catches snakes and sells them in town. Is it not allowed to catch snakes now?" Zhang Liang asked in confusion.
"Have you sold all five snakes? Do you have any to eat at home?"
"I've sold them all. I can only get a few dollars a piece. How can I bear to eat them myself?"
"Who in your family manages the money? Who should get the money from selling the snake?"
"My mother manages the accounts. All the money in the family is given to her. I have no money to use." Zhang Liang complained.
"Okay, now that you're done asking questions, call your mother in."
Zhang Liang left, and Yang Shengli went in apprehensively. He sat in front of the two police officers and pretended to be calm: "What do you want to ask? We haven't done anything wrong. Xiangnan is framing us!"
"Let's just ask. We can't wrongly accuse you if we haven't done anything wrong. Are you the one who manages the accounts in your family? Does your husband give you all the money he earns?"
When Yang Shengli heard that it had nothing to do with snakes, she said proudly: "Of course, the man must pay back the money."
"Do you think he will pay you less? All the money is given to you?"
"He has paid it all. He dare not not pay. I search his pockets every day." Yang Shengli said affirmatively.
"You trust him so much, have you ever suspected that he hid the money outside or gave it to someone else?" Xiao Zhang continued to ask.
Yang Shengli laughed: "How dare he have someone outside? Who would follow him with his ugly appearance? I know every penny he earns. There is no way he can hide it."
"Has he paid you these days?"
"Yes."
"How much did you pay?"
"Eighteen yuan. Even though he is ugly and short, he is good at making money." Yang Shengli said proudly.
"Now that you've finished asking questions, you can leave and let your husband come in."
Zhang Cai saw Yang Shengli coming out and asked fearfully, "They are investigating the snake incident... What did you say? You didn't say it, did you?"
"Of course I won't tell you. They'll just ask you about everyday things. If they ask you about snake bites, just say you don't know. As long as you don't tell them, what can they do?"
When Zhang Cai saw the two police officers, he sat down with great pressure.
"Don't be nervous. Just a few questions. You usually catch snakes and sell them in town. How's your business?"
"Not bad... not bad. They're only available in the summer. Basically, every time we catch a snake, we can sell it quickly. The rich people in town like to eat this stuff."
"How much does a snake cost? By the pound?"
"No, not by the jin. It's too troublesome to do it by the jin. They're all four or five yuan each. The thinner ones are four yuan, and the thicker ones are about five yuan."
"You sold the snake the day before yesterday and gave it to your wife for eighteen dollars, right?"
Zhang Cai nodded: "Yes, eighteen yuan, I sold them all, I didn't hide a penny."
"So you are selling four snakes?" Xiao Zhang looked at him and asked.
"Yes, four." Zhang Cai answered without any doubt.
"Your grandson and son said that you caught five snakes the day before yesterday. Where did the other snake go?" Xiao Zhang shouted.
Zhang Cai's eyes were a little flustered. He said awkwardly, "There's still one...we ate one ourselves..."
"Your son said that we didn't eat snakes at home, and that he couldn't bear to eat a snake for just a few dollars. Who is lying?"
"Actually... I sold five snakes. I hid the money because I was afraid my wife would find out. I lied to her that a snake had escaped on the road. The snakeskin bag had a hole in it and a snake had escaped..."
"Where did you hide the money? Who did you sell the snakes to? You should know all the people who buy snakes regularly. Let's go and visit them."
Xiao Zhang stood up and said, "Come with us in the car and we'll take you there to ask. If you really sold five snakes, you'll be fine.
If you can only find the whereabouts of four snakes, please tell me the truth about the whereabouts of the other one."
Xiao Zhou advised: "Confess and you will be treated leniently; resist and you will be treated severely. If you have really committed a crime, you can spend less time in jail if you confess now.
If you don't tell the truth, we have ways to make you confess, and your time in jail, which was originally a few months, may turn into several years.
"Releasing a snake to bite someone, nearly breaking their leg, is a criminal case of intentional injury, you need to think it through."
Zhang Cai was extremely frightened, but he remembered what his wife said: as long as they didn't admit it, the police wouldn't know where to investigate.
Even if a snake is missing, it does not prove that he released the snake to bite anyone.
If you don't tell it, you may not go to jail, but if you tell it, you will definitely go to jail.
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